The
Charles Harris Library Gallery is pleased to present recent work by
Misty Stratton and Marlana Williams. Despite aesthetic differences,
both artists share a sensitivity towards memory and personal history.
Stratton traces out contours of old family photos, concealing her loved
ones’ faces behind peculiar masks inspired by different cultures. Her
textile pieces also incorporate reductive contours of nameless people
engaged in uncertain activity. The darkly humorous results are
meditations on the changing nature of family relationships, belonging
and estrangement. They convey a quiet yearning to “fix it back the way
it was.” The formalist tendency of Williams, on the other hand,
emphasizes the inherent aesthetic qualities of her found objects. Yet,
the old fragments of furniture, salvaged window frames, and scraps of
fabric obliquely suggest intimate lives of the anonymous people who
once used them.

The public is warmly invited to attend the
opening reception on Monday, December 7th 5:30 - 7:30pm in the gallery.
Light refreshments will be served.

About the Artists:Misty
Stratton has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia’s
College at Wise and an M.F.A. from Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland.
She currently is adjunct faculty of art at Mountain Empire Community
College and UVa-Wise. Marlana Williams was born and raised in Gate City
Va. She has a B.F.A in art from University of Virginia’s College at
Wise. She currently lives in Gate City with her son and husband.